Renewable Energy Community: Key Elements DE-AC36-99-GO10337
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A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future A Renewable Energy Community: Technical Report NREL/TP-540-42774 Key Elements January 2008 A reinvented community to meet untapped customer needs for shelter and transportation with minimal environmental impacts, stable energy costs, and a sense of belonging N. Carlisle, J. Elling, and T. Penney NREL is operated by Midwest Research Institute ● Battelle Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337 A Renewable Energy Technical Report NREL/TP-540-42774 Community: Key Elements January 2008 A reinvented community to meet untapped customer needs for shelter and transportation with minimal environmental impacts, stable energy costs, and a sense of belonging N. Carlisle, J. Elling, and T. Penney Prepared under Task No. 2940.0007 National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov Operated for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by Midwest Research Institute • Battelle Contract No. DE-AC36-99-GO10337 NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. Available electronically at http://www.osti.gov/bridge Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0062 phone: 865.576.8401 fax: 865.576.5728 email: mailto:[email protected] Available for sale to the public, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 phone: 800.553.6847 fax: 703.605.6900 email: [email protected] online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.htm Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste “We live in an extraordinarily challenging time – a time when we have learned to walk on the moon, but not yet how to walk on the earth” William S. Becker1 1 Presentation to the 2nd Annual Intelligent Green & Energy Efficient Buildings Conference &Expo, March 29, 2006, Beijing, China. iii Acknowledgements We appreciate NREL leaders Bobi Garrett and Doug Arent for their support of this initiative. Thanks also goes to the many NREL staff members who provided valuable input and review including John Barnett, Howard Brown, Craig Christenson, Paul Denholm, Peter Lilienthal, Tony Markel, Chandra Shah, Walter Short, Roger Taylor, and Otto VanGeet. In addition, many stakeholders outside of NREL have spent time with the authors providing significant information about their experiences with energy issues and cost tradeoffs, use of and interest in renewable energy technologies, and the overall feasibility of a renewable energy community. Thanks goes to Simon Walker, Actus Lend Lease; Piper Rhodes, Kennecott Lands; Jim Heid, UrbanGreen; Gary Lawrence, ARUP Urban Strategies; Nina Powers, Jodi John, and Shannon Staub, Sarasota County; Michael Ohlsen, Florida Energy Office; Roger Duncan, Austin Energy; and Larry Oswald, Global Electric Motorcars. iv Executive Summary Increasing dependence on fossil fuel, primarily for buildings and transportation, threatens the world’s long-term energy security and environmental sustainability. In fact, the buildings and transportation sectors use approximately 70% of the United States’ energy use. Changing the way we design new communities using a renewable energy systems approach—with sustainable planning, net zero-energy homes, advanced vehicles, and innovative utility interconnections— could significantly decrease this energy use, as well as its associated emissions and climate change impacts, both in the U.S. and worldwide. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is assessing the feasibility of developing such Renewable Energy Communities to help Americans overcome our high level of fossil fuel use and ever-increasing dependence on foreign oil. Assessment efforts include: • Working with several "green"2 developers who are grappling with energy issues and cost tradeoffs • Surveying builders, developers, and stakeholders about their use of and interest in renewable energy technologies • Conducting a literature review on the concept of Renewable Energy Communities3 • Gathering cross-discipline information from all NREL renewable energy/efficiency areas. Findings reveal that there is little information available on how to integrate renewable technologies as a system in community building design. There is a real information gap and need to share renewable technology information with builders, developers, and stakeholders who are interested in pursuing renewable technology integration in communities. One purpose of this report is to help bridge this information gap; another is to describe and emphasize the “systems approach” to designing a Renewable Energy Community that provides the paradigm-shifting ability to develop these communities cost-effectively. Looking at the community system as a whole—linking homes with vehicles and addressing energy issues on a community level rather than individual households—makes good business sense.4 This report outlines and provides examples of the elements necessary to develop a Renewable Energy Community. It also discusses stakeholders that might be involved, and gives details on the systems approach recommended. The elements can be thought of as a progression of steps— not necessarily in order—but nonetheless building on each other towards such a community. In addition, a literature review and reference list is provided in an Appendix that cites further examples and contact information on stakeholders involved in each particular element. 2 “Green developers/builders are often defined as those that use energy efficient appliances and building materials, yet rarely use renewable technologies.” U.S. Green Building Council [cited 2006]. http://www.usgbc.org/. 3 “Renewable Energy Communities” by NREL’s definition must use renewable energy technologies. It is a term coined and defined by the NREL authors primarily to differentiate between the term “sustainable communities” that may or may not use renewable energy. 4 Penney, T., and J. Elling. 2006. Plugging In to Renewable Communities. Solar Today 20 (3):22-25. http://www.solartoday.org/2006/may_june06/plugging_in.htm. v Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. v I. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 The Problem: Dwindling Supply of Non-Renewable Energy Resources................................ 1 A Solution: Build Vibrant Renewable Communities to Mitigate Energy Supply Issues .......... 1 Research Methods ............................................................................................................... 2 Research Results ................................................................................................................. 2 Purpose of this Paper........................................................................................................... 3 II. Key Elements for a Renewable Energy Community ......................................................... 3 1. Sustainable Design Approach......................................................................................... 3 Examples of Sustainable Design .................................................................................... 5 2. Solar/Zero Energy Buildings and/or Micro-Grids............................................................. 6 Examples of Communities Using Solar/PV ..................................................................... 7 Examples of Communities Exploring Micro-Grids ........................................................... 8 3. Advanced and Energy Efficient Transportation ............................................................... 9 Examples of Advanced and Efficient Transportation ..................................................... 10 Examples of a Zero-Energy Home with a PHEV ........................................................... 12 4. Utility Role Expansion—Power Generation & Load Management ................................. 12 Examples of Progressive Utilities.................................................................................. 13 Example of Utilities Interacting with Renewable Community Development ................... 13 5. Putting it All Together for a Renewable Energy Community.......................................... 14 Is There a Business Case?..........................................................................................